IndyCar Texas: Tony Kanaan leads Ganassi one two in practice

The pair moved to the front when running resumed after a yellow flag going into the final half-hour, with Kanaan doing a lap at 24.1666 seconds and 216.745mph.

Dixon then slotted into second, 0.0148s slower, soon afterwards.

It was nearly an all-Ganassi top three, but Ed Carpenter Racing's early pacesetter Josef Newgarden interrupted the pattern by beating Charlie Kimball to third.

Newgarden and Kimball had led an all-American top four for a long period in the first half of practice - their compatriots Marco Andretti and Alexander Rossi ended up back in fifth and seventh, split by their team-mate Carlos Munoz.

Rossi was the cause of one of the stoppages having picked up a cut in a tyre, prompting one of two track inspections for debris.

Graham Rahal also forced a pause when his Dallara-Honda ground to a halt on track with a gearbox failure.

The morning's only accident came just eight minutes into the session, with Gabby Chaves spinning into the Turn 3 wall on one of his first flying laps.

He was unhurt, but the Dale Coyne Racing team could be hard-pressed to get the car ready for the afternoon's qualifying session.

Penske had a relatively muted set of results - Juan Pablo Montoya its lead runner in eighth.

FREE PRACTICE RESULTS